


Down the Road

by renegadeartist



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-28
Updated: 2013-08-27
Packaged: 2017-12-24 21:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/944850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renegadeartist/pseuds/renegadeartist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meteors destroyed most of civilization. This is the story of how they picked the world up from the ashes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Down the Road

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote a thing. Tell me if you think it's worth continuing. Also, crap summary, but give it a try if you'd like.

You weren’t very old when the meteors hit, when the world ended, in a sense. You were only about 13, with so many years still left to live. You were at home when it happened, with your dad, on your birthday. You’re not sure what happened to your father. You haven’t seen him since then, or anyone else for that matter.

Before you lost power you heard a story on the radio that was still broadcasting for some reason. They said millions were dead. More homeless and even more injured. You were lucky to escape with a broken leg, which had healed already, thank goodness, though you still retained a bit of a limp, unfortunately. 

In the months-or was it years? – Since the meteors fell, you had gotten a crude shelter. The charred remains of an old house that might have once been comfortable and have all four walls. Regardless of missing a crucial part of the wall, it was in the best condition you’d seen in a while. It even had a functioning plumbing system.

You were running out of food lately, so you were due for a supply run. You grab your backpack and hammer- the only weapon you could find and use effectively- and climb out of your shelter. You start walking down what was left of a road to the closest gas station. On the way you feel a strong wind, something that you’re not sure has stopped blowing since you got there. Approaching the small convenience store, you hear something and immediately freeze. You listen closely and you don’t hear anything else, so you continue on.

In the small store, there are few shelves still standing. The coolers have been broken open, some by you and some by an unknown force. You walk over and quickly stuff any and all supplies you might need. Food, bottled water, a blanket since winter was coming soon, and extra bandages in case they were needed, they all go into the backpack and you stand up and prepare to go home. Before you can push the shattered glass out of the way, you hear it again, a croaking, bubbling noise. 

You stop and curiosity gets the better of you. You find it near the cash register. It looks like a salamander, except you are fairly certain salamanders should not be a bright yellow. You pick it up, as it is obviously injured, and get some bandages and water out of your backpack. Pouring the water over the long but shallow cut, wrapping it in a bandage. You feel the animal start to relax and make a sound you can only assume to be reminiscent to purring.

Getting back to your shelter, you make a small bed for the salamander. You put her to sleep, and go back to sorting your supplies. This is the first time you’d found anything living besides yourself. Deciding to name her Casey, you smile briefly. Today had been a good one.

Outside the wind stops, silence settling over the destroyed town.

~~~

The static is deafening. You’d been trying to get your radio to work for quite some time. Though not sure there would be any stations broadcasting, you try anyway. It gives you something to do other than sulk. You can feel the warm body and soft breathing from your dog, Bec. Fiddling with the wires, you finally get something other than static. You’re not sure what you were expecting, but this certainly wasn’t it. You hear a girl’s voice; she sounds about 13, just like you. She sounds panicked, though you’re not sure why. She just keeps saying numbers, over and over. You realize they’re coordinates. Quickly scrambling for paper and pencil, you hastily write down what the girl is saying. 

Once you finish, as if the girl knew, she says something other than a string of numbers. “I hope you got that, now I have to go. They’re coming. See you there, Jade.”

You smile. Nice to know your friend made it. It had been a while ago, but you had met a girl named Rose who was like you. She had stayed with you for a while, but then one day you woke up and she was gone. She left nothing but a note that said she was safe, but she had to keep looking for her brother. You missed her of course, but now you know that she’s ok, and you might get to see her again! 

You get up, rousing your dog from his nap, and grab a backpack to store all your belongings in. you stuff food and water and an extra set of clothes. Wondering if Rose had found her brother, or were she was asking you to go, you shove any other necessities you might need, making sure they all fit and start walking, Bec right at your heels. You look at the map in your hand and begin the long trek to the place Rose is sending you to.

“Good dog, best friend,” you say fondly, recalling what you and your grandpa always said.

~~~

You are running, trying to get away. They are chasing you. You don’t know why. You never did anything to them. You can hear the bare feet slapping the ground, the feral growls coming from their throats. You see a building ahead, and not just any building. It was the building you’d been looking for. 

Running into the dilapidated radio station, you slam the door closed and quickly lock it. The sounds of scraping and banging quickly reach your ears. You rush over to the microphone and quickly start to talk into it, knowing it still worked and that Jade would hear it at any moment. Once you finish saying the coordinates for the umpteenth time, you quickly say a goodbye. 

The door crashes open just as you find the back door. Ramming into it, you can feel it give, but not fast enough. You can hear the growls and practically smell the rot. You feel a claw scraping your leg, and you let out a piercing scream. Blood running down your leg, you flee as fast as you can to a place you know will be safe from them. 

You stumble down the street, feeling weak and extremely aware of the awful tearing pain in your leg. Again, you can hear them following, again you try to get away. This time you know exactly where to go and how to escape them, fleeing down the tunnel that leads to the entrance to your temporary shelter. 

Relief floods you as you scramble down the small tunnel. The relief is quickly dashed, however, when you hear something coming down towards you. Getting to the trap door, you shove it open and scramble in the wood paneled house. “They’re after me! Kanaya do something!” 

You scramble over to the corner were you keep your knitting needles, the only weapon in the room. Grabbing them, you hold them in a defensive position, waiting for the creature to claw its way into the room. When it does, you get a good look at it. It has matted black hair and ashen gray skin. The horns on its head look like a deer’s except in strangely bright colors. It looks like a human in shape, but not in expression. The creature’s face is contorted into a snarl, and its yellow eyes practically glowing, something dripping from its fangs.

Before it can lunge at you a foot connects with its head and it gets propelled away, quickly sliced in half by a chainsaw, green blood spraying everywhere. Kanaya looks at you, her chainsaw still buzzing. “Are you alright, Rose?” she asks before you start to lose consciousness. You can hear her yelling for Jane before you completely black out. 

A warm feeling encompasses you, and you can see your mother again.

~~~

You don’t feel like getting up. The bandage covering your middle is already red, but you can’t feel any pain from it. Your sword is resting near you in case you would need it. Closing your eyes, you envision the gash in your stomach disappearing, healing with time. 

You get up, the wound almost completely gone, and prepare to leave. The sword you had was coated in dust, seeing as it had been there for at least a month. You grab it, wipe the dust off, and prepare to leave. Outside the door is a wrecked city, or something you assume to be a city. There are people sitting on the stoops of destroyed houses, some dead, some sleeping. You can’t tell. 

You walk. And you walk. You keep walking, not really caring were you‘ll end up.

Eventually you see someone on the side of the dirt track you’d been walking on. It’s one of those things. You think people call them trolls. Walking up to it, you note the unusually straight and tame hair and red glasses. It sniffs the air, and turns toward you, smiling big.

“Better run run run little boy. Or I’ll get’cha. You don’t know what I’ll do with you. Maybe I’ll make you scream, or make you cry. Or maybe I’ll even eat you all up up up!” The creature says in a cheery voice.

“No, I don’t think you will. I’m Dave, by the way. Nice to meet you I guess,” you say to her, deciding that she is in fact a girl. “If I may ask, why are you sitting on the side of the road?”

“Oooooh, this one is hard to trick. Hello Dave, I’m Terezi. I won’t eat you if you don’t cause me trouble! I don’t like to eat people anyway. Chalk is much better.” The troll says. You offer her your hand, pulling her onto her feet. 

“Want to come with, Terezi? I’m a bit lacking companions as you can see.” You say, beginning to walk, Terezi following you. She hits you in the head with her cane, cackling. 

“No, I can’t see you dumb dumb, I’m blind!”

“If you’re blind, how do you know where I’m going?” You ask, she only cackles and walks faster, quickly overtaking you.

Time seems to go faster with someone to talk to.


End file.
